Digital Processing Settings

[philh]

Sony 997

Where should I set the Dynamic Range Compression and Digital Audio Decoding Input Priority?

Dynamic Range
OFF - The Dynamic Range is not compressed
STD - The Dynamic Range is compressed as intended by the Recording Engineer
MAX - The Dynamic Range is compressed dramtically (recommended)

Digital Audio Decoding Input Priority
AUTO - Automatically switches between DTS, Dolby Digital, or PCM
PCM - PCM signals are given priority

The decoding setting also begs the question on how a similar setting on the DVD player should be set.

 

[Hi Ho]

Personally I would turn the dynamic range compression off. I want to hear everything without compression. With compression on, explosions and other loud noises are dumbed down.

I would set the audio decoding priority to AUTO. When watching a DVD it will be either DD or DTS which you select in the DVD menu. The receiver will automatically switch to whatever the DVD player is putting out. When listening to a CD the receiver will switch to PCM.

 

[tbewick]

You really should just experiment with the dynamic range settings. I find some films have speech that is difficult to hear without turning on some compression. Some other films, particularly THX films, have very sharp speech at all volumes and without compression. I also sometimes turn compression on out of concern of damaging my speakers.

I'd think you'd need quite a good set up to have enjoyable sound without compression turned on. This of course depends on the film as some films might have hardly any dynamic range. One other thing is that many films nowadays, especially action films, are mixed excessively loud, so compression makes them more listenable.

 

[MDS]

Does the Sony receiver require you to set one global value for the compression or can you change it on the fly? It would be odd if you couldn't change it on the fly. I would agree that the default should be 'off' and then you can change it on the fly when you want to use it. That's how I use it and my receiver will reset it back to off when the receiver is turned off.

Digital Input priority should always be Auto - let the receiver figure out the format of the input signal and switch appropriately. That feature is essential for my digital cable because some channels have analog audio and some have digital audio (which may be DD or PCM). With Auto, the receiver will take care of choosing the analog or digital outputs and you don't have to do it manually.

For the DVD player, you definitely want it set to 'bitstream' or 'raw' (however your player labels it). In conjunction with the Auto setting on the receiver, everything happens automatically as the receiver can identify the format of the signal and use the appropriate decoder.

 

[philh]

For the DVD player, you definitely want it set to 'bitstream' or 'raw' (however your player labels it). In conjunction with the Auto setting on the receiver, everything happens automatically as the receiver can identify the format of the signal and use the appropriate decoder.

From memory the DVD output is Dolby or PCM
But there's a seperate flag for DTS on/off

I have it set to dolby and dts on